Alphabet Fun Teaching Guide

96 Pages·2011·2.95 MB·English

mmm
aaa
TTT OOO
zzz
nnn
OOO
TTT
a n d
A l p h a b et F u n
Pre-Nursery
Teaching Guide
(Combined)
Sue Gilbert

Contents
Introduction ...........................................................................................................3
Section 1: a to m Alphabet Fun
• Resource sheet .............................................................................................6
• Suggested activities using the cards ..........................................................8
Lesson Plans:
• Lesson 1–8: Tracing Practice ......................................................................10
• Lesson 9: Letter a ........................................................................................18
• Lesson 10: Letter b ......................................................................................20
• Lesson 11: Letter c ......................................................................................23
• Lesson 12: Letter d ......................................................................................24
• Lesson 13: Letter e ......................................................................................26
• Lesson 14: Letter f.......................................................................................28
• Lesson 15: More words starting with the letters a to f ...........................29
• Lesson 16: Letter g ......................................................................................31
• Lesson 17: Letter h ......................................................................................33
• Lesson 18: Letter i .......................................................................................34
• Lesson 19: Letter j .......................................................................................36
• Lesson 20: Letter k ......................................................................................38
• Lesson 21: Letter l .......................................................................................40
• Lesson 22: Letter m .....................................................................................42
• Lesson 23: More words starting with the letters g to m .........................43
• Lesson 24: Write the missing letters in alphabetical order ....................45
• Lesson 25: Fill in the blanks with the correct letters ..............................46
• Lesson 26: Match word with picture .........................................................47
• Lesson 27: Circle the first letter of the name of each object .................48
• Lesson 28: Maze .........................................................................................49
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Section 2: n to z Alphabet Fun
• Resource sheet ...........................................................................................50
• Note on materials .....................................................................................52
Lesson Plans:
• Lesson 1–5: Pattern tracing .......................................................................53
• Lesson 6: Letter n ........................................................................................58
• Lesson 7: Letter o ........................................................................................60
• Lesson 8: Letter p ........................................................................................62
• Lesson 9: Letter q ........................................................................................63
• Lesson 10: Letter r.......................................................................................65
• Lesson 11: Letter s.......................................................................................67
• Lesson 12: More words starting with the letters n to s ...........................68
• Lesson 13: Letter t.......................................................................................69
• Lesson 14: Letter u ......................................................................................71
• Lesson 15: Letter v ......................................................................................73
• Lesson 16: Letter w .....................................................................................75
• Lesson 17: Letter x ......................................................................................76
• Lesson 18: Letter y ......................................................................................78
• Lesson 19: Letter z ......................................................................................79
• Lesson 20: More words starting with the letters t to z ...........................81
• Lesson 21: Write the missing letters in alphabetical order ....................83
• Lesson 22: Fill in the blanks with the correct letters ..............................84
• Lesson 23: Match word with picture .........................................................85
• Lesson 24: Circle the first letter of the name of each object .................86
• Lesson 25: Maze ..........................................................................................87
Songs for section 1: a to m Alphabet Fun ....................................................88
Songs for section 2: n to z Alphabet Fun .....................................................91
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Introduction
Reading and writing are such important skills, and essential to all other formal
education throughout life. It is therefore important that the basics are well taught
and well learned. The lesson plans in this teaching guide present suggestions and
ideas for teachers facing this key task of teaching young children to read and write
in English. The basic method for learning to write, name, and say the phonic sound
is repeated for each letter; the familiar approach will provide reassurance for
students of this age. But it is also important to make learning fun, so there are also
ideas for introductory and recapitulation activities and games that will add variety
and fun to the lessons while reinforcing the formal teaching and learning.
No exact times are given for the lessons; judge your students’ progress and take as
many periods as necessary to ensure that they are confident with the new material
before moving on.
I hope that you will find this series of Student Books and the accompanying
Teaching Guides easy and enjoyable to use.
Before you begin it may be helpful to read the sections below.
Sound of the week table
To reinforce initial sounds, ask the students to bring small items from home that
begin with the chosen sound of the week. The student should show the class the
item and say the name before it is displayed on the table in the classroom or, if
there is no space for an extra table, place it in a large box. Make a sign or use the
appropriate flashcard as a label for the table. Take a couple of minutes each day
to look at the items and ask the students to name them and sound the initial letter
as you point to them or hold them up.
Encourage the students to look at the items and name them if they have finished
other tasks, but to avoid any accidental damage or breakages, make sure they
understand that they should not handle then.
Kinaesthetic learning
Kinaesthetic learning is learning by doing. This means that the brain not only
remembers information that has been learned, it also remembers a physical action
or sensation associated with it, and this reinforces the learning and the recall of the
information.
Some simple kinaesthetic learning techniques which can be applied to learning to
write letters are suggested below:
1. Write the letter as large as possible on the board or on a large sheet of card.
Ask the students to trace your letter in the air. It is important that this is done
using the whole arm, moving from the shoulder.
2. Supply each student with a 10 x 10cm square of sandpaper and ask them to use
their finger to trace the target letter on the surface of the sandpaper.
3. Supply each student with a 10 x 10 cm square of velvet and ask them to use
their finger to trace the target letter on the surface of the velvet.
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4. Ask the students to use their right forefinger (if right-handed) to write the letter
in the palm of their left hand (adapt instruction for left-handed students).
5. If finger paints are available, students can write the target letter using finger
paint on old sheets of newspaper.
Learning to write
Bad writing habits are difficult to overcome, so please ensure that the students are
sitting correctly when they write, that their exercise book or sheet of paper is
straight in front of them, and that they are using the correct pencil grip.
correct pencil grip
Correct sitting position
Note – feet should not be dangling
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At this stage, it is easier for them to use thicker pencils. If possible, supply them
with triangular (prism) shaped pencils which are easier to hold, and rubber pencil
grips are also very useful in ensuring that the pencil is held correctly.
Developing the fine motor control skills needed for writing is linked to the
development of the gross motor skills, so before students attempt to write with
pencils, give them sheets of old newspaper and wax crayons to practise writing
large letters.
You can also supply each student with a mini-whiteboard made by inserting a
sheet of plain white A4 paper into a plastic envelope. Each student will also
require a board marker and an eraser made from a small piece of sponge, some
tissues or kitchen roll. The student can practise writing the letters on the plastic
surface and then erase them.
Making mistakes
We all make mistakes, but there are some children who are unduly worried about
doing so. To help them overcome this fear, make some ‘mistakes’ yourself. For
example, write a letter the wrong way round, misspell a word or mismatch a
picture and letter. The students will enjoy pointing out your error and you will be
able to ask them to help you correct it. Seeing teacher make a mistake and correct
it easily will be reassuring for less confident students.
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SSeeccttiioonn 11 :: RReessoouurrccee SShheeeett aa ttoo mm
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
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SSeeccttiioonn 11 :: RReessoouurrccee SShheeeett aa ttoo mm
h
i
j
k
l
m
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SSeeccttiioonn 11 :: aa ttoo mm
Section 1: Alphabet Fun a to m
Resource Sheet
• Make an enlarged copy of the resource sheet for each student in the class.
Since it will be used for several different activities, copy it onto card rather
than paper or, if resources permit, laminate the sheets with clear plastic.
• Cut up the sheets to make a complete set of twenty-six cards for each
student.
• It is useful to write the name or initials of each student on the back of each
card in a set (best done before laminating). This is time-consuming initially,
but will help to identify stray cards and ensure that sets remain complete.
• Keep each set of cards in a strong envelope or use a rubber band to hold
them together.
Suggested activities using the cards
Note: For some of these activities it will be necessary for the teacher to select the
required cards from the set before the lesson since the whole set may not be
required, particularly in the early stages.
1. Students can trace over the letters with their finger when learning to write
them.
2. Write a number of letters on the board Point to one of the letters and ask
the students to hold up the matching card. As the students learn more, they
can be asked to hold up the corresponding picture.
3. Vary the above activity by showing the students a picture flashcard and
asking the students to hold up the correct initial letter.
4. Hold up or point to a classroom item beginning with one of the letters
learned, e.g. book, bag, desk, door, foot, girl, finger, hair, hat, jar, etc.
Name the item, stressing the initial sound. Ask the children to repeat the
word and then hold up the card showing the initial letter of the word.
5. Students can work in pairs to play letter snap. Use two sets of cards.
Initially use only the letters or the pictures. In time, students can mix the
cards and say snap for any letter / picture match.
6. The students can work individually to arrange the cards in alphabetical
order.
E asy version: place the cards face up on the desk and arrange them in the
correct order
More difficult version: place the cards face down on the desk and turn them
over one at a time. It will be more difficult to place them in order this way.
7. The students can play memory matching in pairs. Place two matching sets of
letter cards face down on the table in rows.
• The first student turns over one card and says what it shows, and then
does the same with a second card; both cards should be laid flat on the
table in their places.
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